The Adventures of Apollo & Stinky – Part 2

Joyo and I woke up early on Sunday to get a head start on our 1000 mile drive to Shreveport. The plan was pretty simple – We’d drive all day to make Louisiana, stay at Doc’s house, and then haul the wagon back to Texas using Doc’s roll back. Of course, nothing on this trip went as planned.

It started with Egg McMuffins and ended with Taco Bell. In between, we managed to see a Robert Williams style road rage battle between two mini vans as well as a horse running wildly (and dodging 18-wheelers) on the interstate after being liberated from it’s t-boned horse hauler. Weird shit was certainly amuck in Tennessee and Arkansas.

When we finally pulled into Doc’s driveway, I saw my wagon sitting on all fours. I figured Doc was being his typical self and simply installed a few studs to make rolling the car on and off the hauler easier. As soon as I hopped out of the truck though, my attention went elsewhere. See, Doc’s garage houses one of the most finely detailed Chassis Engineering dragsters in the country… along with a mean intentioned Dodge Viper and three other hot rods we all know and love. I had to explore them all right away.

From the garage, to the house… more of the same. The Chaz built Finkosel, an amazing collection of vintage carnival goods, a perfectly reconstructed diner, and art piece after art piece that had Joyo and I drooling. Doc’s collection alone is another article for another day…

After the tour, Doc smiled and asked if I wanted to know about the wagon. As it turns out, Doc and “Mark 55” spent Friday and Saturday hunting parts and putting my old car back together. Joyo and I were both blown away by the news. What do you say? How do you act? It’s tough to respond appropriately when your appreciation level is that high… I still haven’t really found the words and don’t know that I will anytime soon.

After the long drive and the emotional news, we all hit the sack pretty hard. Doc had to get to work early in the morning and Joyo and I had another good drive ahead of us. Texas, here we come… and this time we decided to take the back roads.

For the first time in four days, I was relaxed. The gorgeous scenery of East Texas, the purr of the small block, and even the sound of some surf music… Things were right again. I think that little drive might have been one of the best of my life.

Of course, my weekend curse wasn’t finished quite yet. After performing flawlessly all the way home, the wagon started developing a strange sound just as we pulled into Austin. Preliminary research has us thinking tranny but we haven’t spent too much time on it. It’s just too damn good to be home.